REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Accept Findings of the Eruv Study and Authorize Next Steps for Implementation
Report
BACKGROUND
On March 7, 2019, City Council ranked the 2019 Study Issue DPW 19-01 Consider the Feasibility of Establishing an Eruv in Sunnyvale (Attachment A) at the 2019 Study/Budget Issues Workshop and directed staff to move forward with this Study Issue.
In September 2019, staff began working with leaders of the Jewish Community in Sunnyvale in partnership with other community contacts affiliated with the South Peninsula Hebrew Day School to outline the eruv boundaries within Sunnyvale's city limits and identify physical characteristics of new elements proposed in the public right-of-way needed to complete the eruv.
As defined, an eruv is a Jewish term for a system that integrates a number of private and public domains and creates a larger technical private domain within the context of Jewish law. Under Jewish law, it is forbidden to carry certain items, regardless of their weight, size or purpose, from a private domain into a public domain during certain Jewish holidays, such as the Sabbath, which traditionally lasts from nightfall on Friday to nightfall on Saturday. The creation of an eruv permits observant individuals to carry these items within the eruv as an extension of the private domain and thereby allows for greater community mobility during these holidays.
EXISTING POLICY
General Plan, Chapter 2, Community Character, and Chapter 4, Community Vision:
? GOAL CC-1.6 Maintain City neighborhoods as safe, healthy places to live.
? GOAL CC-1.7 Encourage neighborhood patterns that encourage social interaction and avoid isolation.
? GOAL CC-6.1 Develop and expand cooperative working relationships with schools, civic groups, neighborhood organizations, business organizations and other established organizations to share in the promotion of heritage programs and projects.
? GOAL CC-12 Maximum Access to Recreation Services, Facilities and Am...
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